CLINTON, Miss. --- The Mississippi College men's basketball team opened the 2012-13 season with a 74-61 victory over Pensacola Christian on Saturday night at A.E. Wood Coliseum.

For the Choctaws (1-0), it was their fifth victory to open a season in the last six tries.  The Eagles (1-6) took a 28-26 lead into halftime, but MC came out on a 23-7 run in the first 7:30 to break the game open.

The Eagles never got closer than seven points the rest of the way, and MC pushed their lead to as many as 16 points down the stretch.

Junior Brandon Blake was the top-scorer for the Choctaws with 22 points, the majority of which came from the free throw line where the Oxford native went 13-18.  As a team, MC went 30-43 from the charity stripe.

Junior Daryl Duncan pured in 15 points, while junior Turmonte Ragland had 13.  Both players went 7-8 from the foul line.  Ragland was the top rebounder for MC with eight boards.  Junior Cameron Bounds returned after missing last season to score seven points and pull down seven rebounds.

The Choctaws will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Huntingdon for a 7:00 p.m. contest.